Bangalore: Twenty beggars, housed in a
government-run relief centre here, have died in the last two
days due to various ailments, including gastroenteritis,
officials said today.

Six of the 15 inmates, who were admitted to the isolation
hospital with severe gastroenteritis today, succumbed in the
morning while three others developed complications at the
centre itself and died on way to hospital in the evening,
sources told PTI.

Eleven inmates of the Beggars` Relief Centre, the only
one in Bangalore which houses as many as 2,500 beggars, had
died yesterday alone.

"The worst hygiene conditions at the centre and
negligence of the authorities is responsible for the deaths.
They allowed things to worsen and immediate and right medical
attention was not provided," doctors at the isolation ward of
the hospital said.

Meanwhile, some more inmates have been admitted to
hospital with "severe stomach and other infections".

The officials at the Centre were tightlipped about the
number of those rushed to hospital today.

Meanwhile, social welfare authorities sought to play down
the incident saying many of the inmates were "suffering from
old age related ailments which resulted in their deaths".

The authorities, who visited the centre, said various
steps had been initiated including a thorough cleaning of the
centre and providing potable water and medical aid for the
inmates.

Social Welfare Minister D Sudhakar paid a visit to the
centre yesterday and ordered a probe into the incident.